Installing Aircraft Solid Rivets

hello welcome to Emily's podcast on installing solid aviation rivets aircraft bodies are riveted together rather than welded because each rivet is removable without altering the temper of the metal skin thousands of rivets will form joints that are stronger than welds without the related cracking rivets are solid unthreaded pins of aluminum alloy with a manufacturer's head on one end riveting is the process of deforming each fastener in a controlled manner to form a tail which holds the sheets together here you'll see examples of the basic tools used to install and remove solid rivets the processes and the inspection required after completion rivets don't necessarily require elaborate tooling indeed even a hammer and a bucking bar can set certain pins but most aviation shops will have compressed air available so the use of pneumatic rivet guns is common Ribbit's are defined by diameter length and head style the two head styles are universal head and countersunk head rivet diameters increment in steps of 1 30 seconds of an H rivet lengths increment in 1/16 properly installed rivets will have a diameter of approximately three times the thickness of the thickest sheet being fastened determine the length by inserting a rivet through the drilled hole in the skins and ensuring there's approximately 1.5 times the diameter protruding from the far side of the work pieces you some holes will require countersinking or dimpling to prepare the metal for a flush headed fastener there is a separate youtube podcast for microdot countersinking revit diameters range from about 332nd to 1/4 inch each diameter will require a hole size about 3000 the rivet for ease of installation here's a chart showing the four most common sizes of ribbit and the recommended numerical drill bit to produce that hole the process shown here involves drilling and deburring holes observe standard aircraft practices guidelines which require edge distances of two to four times the diameter or universal hand rivets or two and a half to four times the diameter for countersunk head rivets all holes must be de Burgh both sides all skins all edges shall be diverted both sides all skins surfaces should be primed before riveting the easiest method to use when starting to learn solid riveting is to mount the bucking bar in a bench vise this allows the workpiece to be held in one hand while using a pneumatic rivet gun in the other hand ensure the surface of the bucking bar is clean free of tape or glues or sealants and smooth leave the bucking surface of the bar protruding from the bench vise and clamp the bar very firmly in the vise jaws install the correct snap into the rivet gun secure it with the safety spring and set the rivet gun pressure low pressure will drive small rivets and high pressure will drive larger diameters insert the rivet and pinch it firmly between the rivets now and the button bar correctly done this should allow the workpiece to float up and down the length of the rivet pull the workpiece towards the gun to eliminate head gap verify that the gun and rivet are held at 90 degrees to the bucking surface and that the workpiece is at 90 degrees to the rivet you observe this process from above maintain strong pressure on the rivet to avoid bouncing and damage when the installation is complete remove the workpiece and inspect the work no head gap skin damage rivet damage or tail problems should be apparent the tail should measure 1.5 times the rivet diameter by 0.5 diameters high if any part of an inspection fails the rivet should be removed and replaced but that's a separate podcast video before we complete there is one alternate method of performing this riveting process the method already shown shows the bucking bar mounted in the bench vise but another option is to clamp the workpiece itself in the vise and hold the bucking bar in the free hand holding both tools by hand may give a better feel for riveting pressures but unfortunately also allows for more errors during riveting although this method may seem more difficult it is closer to the real-life installation of rivets in an airframe in the third level of difficulty may be encountered when in performing riveting on large airframe components in this situation two people are required one person performing the rivet gun operation while other types of rivalling is beyond the scope of this podcast but may be the subject of future video clips to review drill and deeper the holes deeper the edges rivet diameters should be three times the thickest sheet rivet lengths should protrude 1.5 times the diameter past the last skin riveting should be performed in a quick and solid careful manner and then inspect for 1.5 times the diameter by 0.5 times the diameter high when it is complete thanks for watching this production of installing solid aircraft rivets bye for now you

Channel: Riveteer

Views: 442,370

Rating: 4.856957 out of 5

Keywords: Aircraft riveting, solid rivets, mlevel3.com, aviation rivets, BCIT, AME M, aircraft sheet metal, aluminum rivets, aircraft maintenance, riveting, installing rivets

Id: 1hB3rIECtxM

Length: 7min 0sec (420 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 06 2011